Overstock.com gift cards – Nothing says I’m sorry like free stuff that the aggrieved party can pick themselves. Bonus, the overhead on Byrne’s own inventory must be low. You know, because it’s his, not because there is any monkey business going down on OSTK’s financials.

To me, an even better gift would be a candygram--containing a truthful answer to the following email, which Sam sent Byrne the other day:

Having not received a response from last night’s email (see below), I am asking for a response to the following question I asked you in that email:

Will you finally admit that I was correct when I reported in my blog that Overstock.com violated GAAP by using a phony gain contingency in light of the company’s recently announced restatement?

In addition, I have the following questions:

Will you finally admit that I was correct when I reported in my blog that Overstock.com used an improper EBITDA from Q2 2007 to Q2 2008 in violation of SEC Regulation G to materially inflate its financial performance, in light of its later amended disclosures?

Will you publicly admit that I was right about Overstock.com’s violations of GAAP and other SEC disclosure rules (such as Regulation G)?

Will you publicly admit that you were wrong when you claimed that the company was complying with GAAP and other SEC disclosure rules, while at the same time you were publicly defaming me and other critics?

Will the company admit that I notified audit committee member Joseph J. Tabacco about Overstock.com’s GAAP and SEC disclosure violations (such as Regulation G) and continued to issue improper financial reports until it was forced to make corrections in its financial reporting?

As the CEO of Overstock.com you owe me a public apology.

Respectfully,

Sam E. Antar

The ordinarily voluble Byrne hasn't responded. As the Gipper used to say, he can run, but he can't hide.

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About Me

I'm a journalist and author. My latest book is AYN RAND NATION: The Hidden Struggle for America's Soul (St. Martin's Press: Feb. 28, 2012). My previous books were Wall Street Versus America (Portfolio: 2006) and Born to Steal (Warner Books: 2003). I was an investigative reporter and Wall Street writer for BusinessWeek, a contributing editor at Condé Nast Portfolio, and have written for the Daily Beast, Parade magazine, Salon, The Street.com, Fortune.com, Barron's and many other publications. I was an adjunct professor at Columbia University's School of Journalism. Follow me on Twitter @gary_weiss